Automatic photo studios or “photo booths” which are operable by one or more users for taking self-portraits are well known in the prior art. Generally, these photo booths comprise a physical structure such as a booth that also comprises a camera and photo printing unit. A user typically operates the photo booth by tendering a required amount of currency to the photo booth and positions themselves in front of a camera within the booth. One or more photos are then taken of the user by the camera in the photo booth. The photos may then be printed out by the photo booth or sent to a printer for alternative printing options.
Traditional photo booths are large and expensive usually lending to their stationary nature. Some photo booths have been made portable for deployment at events; however, these are also expensive thereby prohibiting placement in less than secure environments. Standalone camera devices, such as camera cellular phones, point and shoot cameras, tablet computers and laptop computers comprising a camera, and the like, have become a popular alternative to photo booths.
Photo booths are often enclosed with walls or opaque curtains to provide subjects with privacy and to entertain a more spontaneous attitude when being photographed without the general public being able to see within the booth. This arrangement often leads to poor lighting levels requiring the use of a flash or other lighting elements aimed directly at the subjects. Using direct flash or strobe lighting where the light is pointed directly at the subjects presents several drawbacks such as the “red eye effect” caused by the human retina reflecting red light directly back into the camera, harsh lighting effects where objects directly in front of the flash appear unnaturally brighter then the surrounding area, and the distraction effect where intense bursts of light directly into the eyes of subjects may cause disorientation for a short period of time.
There is therefore a need in the field for an improved lighting solution for photo booths and the like which serves to reduced the red eye and disorientation effect of direct lighting sources and which also improves photo image quality.